By 
Not sure exactly how accurate this information is but the implications here are so huge, so monumental, so tremendous — that I felt I should share it with our readers. We’ve been receiving multiple reports from both Sprint customers and employees that apparently… wait for it… the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus is safe to flash on Sprint. The information comes through online chats and phone calls with Sprint sales support and according to them, they know all about Google’s flagship (and why wouldn’t they?) and have given the device the green light for activation on their network.
On the surface, it all makes sense. Hypothetically, anyway. Just take a look at the Verizon Galaxy Nexus’s supported radio bands (CDMA 800/1900, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO), it actually supports all the same frequencies that Sprint uses for both 2G and 3G although, sadly, no 4G (not a problem for most Sprint users, I’m sure). We still haven’t gotten word on anyone successfully flashing Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus over to Sprint (or if it’s even possible) but it seems Sprint is more ready and willing. As soon as we get more info, we’ll let you know. Would any Sprint customers out there be willing to pay full price for the Verizon’s GNex?
Thanks, Ben!
I just cancelled my Sprint line and ported to Verizon for the Nexus a few hours ago.
Ouch xD
This might not work though. Something about SMS messages could possibly be incompatible..
I did the same but from tmobile. This phone is beautiful and definitely worth it.
I did the same! so long sprint
I thought about it, but it would raise my bill by 30 bucks a month (pre-tax) and I would loose unlimited data AND unlimited MOBILE to MOBILE
Ya, that’s why Im sticking to sprint. *0 a mnth is already pushing it for me, so i’ll wait until ICS comes to a local sprint phonebefore I upgrade
Again, so tempted to do an upgrade. But my contract is up in May (launch day Evo 4g owner right here) and I know there will be even MORE amazing smartphones out by then and I might switch carriers. I believe time is my friend on this one.
Just keep waiting
Just keep waiting
Just keep waiting…….
Launch day owner, and you still have until may? I got mine at least 5months after it was released, and Im up for upgrade in July…
Just because im eligible for an upgrade doesnt mean my 2 year contract is up. I’d rather wait until my contract is up so I can leave if I want
Verizon Nexus won’t activate without a SIM card. Since Sprint won’t be able to supply a SIM that the LTE Nexus can interpret, the device will not activate on the network.
Personally I would wait until February for a Sprint Nexus to come out. I am pretty sure it should be out by then.
That’s what just crossed my mind. The phone is activated and authenticated through the 4G sim. I don’t believe there’s a way around that. If there is, then go on ahead Sprint users.
“Does rick james go to smack a bitch” to get a Galaxy Nexus on sprint. Sprint needs to get the Galaxy Nexus just because At&t and t-moblie deal didn’t go through doesn’t mean their is a mass exodus of Sprint users who are moving to Verizon just for the Gnex and true LTE 4G internet. That wimax is a pile of shit.
i still have not gotten mine from Verizon yet.. -__- bills suck..
Anyone can port any CDMA phone to any CDMA carrier they like, provided they’re willing to break the law by cloning the ESN of another carrier approved phone onto said CDMA phone.
I think it should be illegal for Sprint or other CDMA carriers to restrict access to their networks to approved devices only. It is one of the advantages of GSM that the carrier can’t tell you what you can or cannot use on their network.
Well… it will be on all the other carries eventually. Verizon doesn’t have a permanent lock. At least that’s my guess.
If I could of won a Galaxy Nexus from the Holidroid Contest I could tell you, but…..
It is possible I’ve seen a few HTC thunderbolts on Craigslist that are flashed too cricket! It appears that the internet and everything works as well
But will this phone ever officially be on sprint
I doubt you’ll be able to have 4G coverage with the Prime on Sprint’s 4G network, because the hardware is for 4G LTE which is not the same 4G as Sprint…
Hopefully this is a sign that the Prime will be coming to Sprint soon!
Here is a HTC thunderbolt from Verizon that is flashed to cricket. http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/mob/2759952499.html so I don’t see why the galaxy nexus wouldn’t work ya know
They lied. You couldn’t even get it to work on Cricket until yesterday. Yesterday, Cricket launched 4G LTE in Tucson, AZ, and so now have 4G LTE SIMs that include the CSIM program. You can pop that into any Verizon 4G LTE smartphone after SIM unlocking it and it will work on CDMA only.
Damn. I have never seen a phone so amazing….so diabolical…. so atrocious… so wonderful….. so astronomical… so out of this world…. so….Galaxy Nexus…
I don’t understand what this means or even what your referencing… This sounds like one of those awful CK ads from early 2000
i have no idea if GUEST has a gnex, but if u did then u would know what the hype is all about. I thought the droid line was amazing coming from d1 and 2 but the galaxy family blows it away
Don’t care about VZW,Sprint or AT&T, where’s my damn T-mobile Nexus phone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel like its been forever since tmobile released a superphone, the GS2 was released in Oct right??? I feel like the other carriers have at least 2 powerful devices every month
lol 2 power phones every month? your smoking something right, most carries only get 2 phones a month period, certainly not flagship phones
apparently your sarcasm detector needs some fresh batteries…….
You are kidding right? If you look at the amount of “flagship” phones that att alone has released since October Compared to Tmobile I think you would probably fathom where I am coming from. Oh I don’t know – Atrix 2, 4s, LG Nitro,
SGH-I777, Skyrocket…
All compared to the Amaze and the T989, yea I am going to go ahead and say that even though I am certainly overlooking a couple of att phones 5 to 2 is still pretty insane comparison wise.
Any other dumb comments?
only verizon has it in the US… People using it on AT&T have to import it. Because the SGN is a pentaband phone, it will work on Tmobiles 3G/”4G”
In order for a device to be activated on Sprint or Verizon, the ESN has to be in their system. Each company has, simply put, a master list of ESN’s. If a devices ESN isn’t on the list, the billing system won’t allow it to be activated regardless of the fact that it operates on the same frequencies.
This is complete rubbish. The Sprint representatives, especially those on the online chats, are completely clueless about these things. It is impossible, as someone else stated, to flash a non-Sprint branded phone onto Sprint’s network without either the ESN/MEID being added to the backend system or the device being illegally cloned to another existing Sprint phone.
I know there’s a way to get any cdma phone on cricket but kinda hard to get any on sprint legally, so short answer impossible unless the sprint person added to the system somehow
I’ll pay full price. I was going to switch to verizon, but they told me I had an $800 deposit for 2 lines, so I’ll stay here on sprint and buy a Nexus. At least now all I have to do is buy the phone.
The only phone that I would pay full price in Sprint are the Galaxy Note or Galaxy S III, both with 4G.
My Epic 4G Touch is much better for me.
Ummm…this is not true. Chris Sprint has a block on all non-sprint devices. Sprint won’t take the ESN if it is not in their systems.
Wow. It’s goof that there are about three dozen posts saying the same exact thing. Way to read an article and go right to posting without reading what has already been said.
Dammit… Dammit i say…. Damn.. Dang dittilty doo daa dang bop bam boozzle. damn…. i bought the Epic 4g full price. No way imma save up that kind of money to buy another full price phone…. ill wait for INTELSAMSUNGSPRINT trifecta next year… you know what im talkin bout chavez.
let’s all email [email protected] and tell him to bring the G-Nex to Sprint asap!
There’s no need to. Sprint is coming with a monster soon that makes the nexus look like the hero.
the key feature of the Nexus isn’t the specs – it’s the fact that it’s pure Google Android ICS. hard to beat that feature.
Thats true for some. But for me it’s not an issue. Any phone I get is rooted and gets the latest software that comes out anyway. There is no bonus for it being a nexus, and especially it being on VRZ.
really? what phone do you have now and does it have ICS?
I’m running ICS on my EVO. It’s fast, looks great, only thing missing is 4G and the camera (and I rarely ever use either), otherwise little to no issues. A strange error that comes up occasionally, but I think it’s my new daily ROM.
I have ICS on my Evo, and I have a 3D and the MIUI ICS 4.0 is dropping this weekend I believe. Im not really into the whole bragging about having it first, thats really for kids. If it took 2 months after the nexus dropped thats fine with me. I think CM9 for the 3D is around the corner also which is also ICS.
Orly? They better leak some kind of teaser info soon or all but the iPhone crowd will defect for a Nexus (or the D4…)
where do you get your info…? I pray to God its correct;)
I thought Sprint only cared about the iPhone. Guess sales are starting to slow down.
Well that’s cool as hell, I’m on Verizon not planning on going to Sprint as there. service in my area isn’t good. But it would be cool to switch around phone’s Sprint has some great phones.
I would love the nexus but I am happy with my epic 4g touch. If I were to have won it though I would flash it.
It is physically impossible to activate the Galaxy Nexus on Sprint. The Galaxy Nexus (along with all Verizon 4G LTE phones) provision CDMA using a UICC that has a CDMA SIM program embedded on it. AKA, a CDMA SIM card. There is nowhere to flash to make it work on Sprint!
Even if Sprint were willing to allow non-Sprint devices on their network (which they are not), you’re still missing the CDMA SIM card that Sprint has to provide. They aren’t making those available until Q4 2012 along with the LTE smartphones. And even then, do you want to try arguing with Verizon to get the Galaxy Nexus SIM unlocked? It just isn’t going to happen… And let’s not forget Sprint uses a non-standard implementation of CDMA, just like Verizon. They aren’t fully compatible on certain aspects, like the messaging channels in 1X.
And yet somehow they got roaming to work…
That’s because when you roam, you’re passed back to the home network for your call/SMS/MMS/data to be processed. The visiting network doesn’t actually do the hard work. It’s the reason why roaming was so expensive before the FCC mandated domestic voice/data roaming at the operators’ cost.
So if the tower can recognize the device as a foreign one, and appropriately forward calls, text messages, data, etc off to their respective carrier, is there any real limit as to why the carriers can’t support such devices natively? I’ve always thought that Sprint and Verizon could do it relatively simply, but they don’t. I recall reading that they were working on this quite a while back, but they ended up scrapping the plans. GSM carriers in Europe seem to have it pretty much figured out.
The thing is, it has already been worked out for CDMA2000. Asian CDMA2000 operators use a newer revision of the standards that allow for a removable subscriber identity module and rigidly define how calls, messages, and data are handled on the network, as well as how to roam.
The American CDMA2000 operators refuse to adopt the newer revision of the standard though. Verizon has since implemented only a single portion: the CSIM program that can be stored on a SIM card. All CDMA operators in the United States plan to do the same when moving to LTE unless they plan to build over completely before commercial launch.
I see. It’s disappointing that the carriers didn’t make this happen for CDMA2000 since Verizon’s, Sprint’s, and a few others’ networks overlap so well with frequency support. It doesn’t look like it’ll get any better with LTE either. Thanks for your explanations.
Hell yea I would,and your right,who really cares about sprint’s 4G service. I think its the most disgraceful,trick to get people into new contacts. To me sprint is no more than a (4G) scam artist. What percentage of sprint customers get 4g,and what percentage of sprint customers have a 4G phone ? I’d say the ratio would look bad on sprint ???? I call it “Pulling the carpet over peoples eyes”
I would definitely pay full price…please let this be